Serum inoculator



June 27, 1950 R. G. TRUESDALE 2,512,882

SERUM INOCULATOR.

Filed Aug. 1'7, 1949 ARQQRRREPJ (f6 60 7% 88 Z6 I? #2 Fig.6

Fig.7

INVENTOR.

Robert Grant Truesdole Patented June 27, 1953 SERUM INOCULATOR RobertGrant Truesdale, Rehoboth, Mass., as-

s'ig'nor to R. G. Truesdale C0,, Inc., Rehoboth,

Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application August 17, 1949, SerialNo. 110,801

15 Claims. (o1.12s -'215)"* My invention relates to improvements inserum inoculators. While it may be used to inoculate serum of any typein any kind of an animal, human or otherwise, it is particularly adaptedfor use in vaccinating poultry against Newcastle disease, chicken pox,'laryngo-tracheitis, etc.

The present method of inoculating poultry most generally practiced is todip one or two needles or a knife into 'a' supply of serum contained inan open crock or other holder and then stick the thus coated needle orknife into the bird. A portion of the serum frequently drops off fromthe penetrating instrument, and in time this amounts to a substantialloss of the serum. This method provides for no accurate measurement ofthe amount of the serum introduced to the bird. The needles or knivesare not wiped off between inoculations of birds. It is almost impossiblefor a single operative to inoculate a bird himself. At least one hand isneeded to hold the bird, and it is very difiicult for the inoculatingparty to hold the bird with one hand and to dip the needle or pen knifeinto the bowl of serum with the other hand while trying to hold thebird. There is great danger of the moving bird knocking over thecontainer and losing all the serum.

In order to inoculate the bird properly, the

inoculating party must be seated and, therefore, to achieve efficientinoculation, one sitting party is needed to hold and inoculate the birdsand another party is needed to'catch the birds and hand them to him,thereby increasing the cost of inoculation.

I am also aware that others have attempted to provide inoculatingdevices but so far as I am aware these have been crude and clumsydevices or use hollow needles in which it is hard to measure the doseapplied.

In accordance with my invention I provide a serum holding device havinga movable needle extending through the reservoir and having a pointedend which can be pushed into the bird to be inoculated. I provide meansfunctioning with the needle for normally sealing the serum Within saidreservoir, and I believe a feature entirely novel to me to be the meansto wipe said needle on each inoculating movement thereof, except ameasured dose contained within an indentation in the needle which maycomprise a groove or a diametric needle hole. I also provide suitablemeans for reciprocating said needle between its position within thereservoir and its inoculating position.

Many inoculators now on the market require two motions for theapplication of serum:- First,

the advancement of the needle from the inoculator, and second, theforcing of serum'from the inoculator into the bird. Employing myinvention, however, I merely advance the needle from the reservoir'andthe needle itself gives the measured dose which flows into the birdsveins as the point of the needle'is stuck into'the bird. Due to the,fact that I wipe the needle both ways,

namely, as'it is being advanced for use and as it J is being retractedintothe reservoir, I achieve various novel results.

In the first place I substantially eliminate the waste of serum as Iwipe off the needle as it emerges from the reservoir, so that the onlyserum remaining on the needle will be a measured dose in theneedle'groove'or hole sufficient to inoculate a single fowl.

A further feature of myinvention resides in the fact that the needle isagain wiped externally before being withdrawn within the reservoir so asto positively wipe off any contagious disease from any sick fowl afterit has been inoculated and prevent it from' being withdrawn into the'reservoir and be used in the inoculation of other poultry, I

A further object ofjmy invention is to provide an inoculator which issubstantially leak-proof.

A further object of my invention is to provide an inoculator which canbe used efilciently by a single person, as the reservoir .is alwaysloaded with serum enough for a great many inoculations and as it isleak-proof it canbe carried in the farmer's pocket without leakage.

without disturbing them to any great extent.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device which willprevent the serum from contacting the operator.

A further object of my invention is to prevent. the exposure of theserum to air, dust or dirt] thus maintaining its strength- Due tothefact that I only use exactly enough serum to inoculate a single bird andserum is now' being put up in bottles allowing a large measured; dosefor most farmers use, with my invention I have been able to inoculate794 birds on less than such measured doses as put out by the serum]manufacturer, resulting in a saving of substantially 800% of serum.

The farmer' can go into the poultry house at night and in-' oculate thebirds by grabbing them on the roost ily and rapidly machined on a screwmachine, and are so simple in their construction and assembly that theymay be readily disassembled and cleaned by any farmer when desired.

These and such other objects of my invention as may hereinafter appearwill be best understood from a description of the accompanying drawingswhich illustrate an embodiment thereof.

In the drawingsyFig. 1 is a perspective view. illustrating my seruminoculator in use inoculating the wing of a, fowl.

Fig. 2 is a medial sectional view taken through my improved inoculatorwith the needle retractedi to closed position. I

Fig. 3 is an end view looking from the. left in.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged medial sectional view of a portion of a needle Ipreferably employ;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the saidiportion shown in section inFig. 4;

in accordance with my invention.

In the broader aspects of my invention said serum inoculator includes apreferably transparent serum holding reservoir [2 having a dispensinghole l4 therein, preferably in the lower end thereof, and a needlel6extending through said reservoir andcapable of being reciprocatedfroma closed position with its pointed end l8 substantially contained insaid hole 14 asshown in Fig. 2 to an inoculating position with itspointed end l8 projecting an inoculatingdistance beyondsaid hole intothe wingZO of the fowl as shown in Fig. 1.

Said needle is has a measured dose receiving indentation 22 therein at aclosely spaced distance from the pointed end l8. While saidindentationmay comprise a groove of any desired shape in the embodiin'ent'shown itpreferably comprises a diametric needle hole-22.

In thepreferred embodiment shown, I provide the diametrically oppositegrooves 26extending' outwardly a distance from said hole 22, whichgrooves function to dispense the measured dose,

within the hole 22 through a greater area of the inoculated chicken wingor leg by capillary action.

I' also preferably provide means28 insaid reservoir forming with theend'of said needle when said needle is in a closed position a sealforsealing serum within said reservoir and serving. to wipe said needle oneach inoculating movement thereof, except the measured dose containedwithin said indentation or diametric hole. 22.

In my preferred embodiment the said means 28 is an annular sealingelement mountedwith'in the lower end of said reservoir 12 adjacent saidhole 14, having a central hole 36 with its edge adapted to abut thesurface of' said. needle I6 I thereof except a measured dose of theserum where employed. It is also obvious that said element. 28 functionsnot only as a wiper towipe allmaterial off the-needleasit isbeing..-advanced as it passes through said hole to wipe all serum fromsaid needle on each inoculating movement 4 from the reservoir, but alsooperates to wipe all material from the end of the needle, including anydiseased matter taken from the fowl inoculated as it is being retractedwithin the reservoir l2.

In the preferred embodiment shown, the serum holding reservoir i2 hasthe reduced nipple forming. lower end 34 preferably externally threadedasat-36t The annular sealing element 23 is clamped between the annularedge of this nipple end and a retaining cap 38 which has a skirt 44internally threaded at 46 to screw onto the threads 36 of the reservoir.'A wall 40 of this cap 38 has a central hole 4'2 from the edge of whichthe wall 46 diverges on the inside of the capto provide a sort ofconical seat 50.

In the preferred embodiment shown, the wiping washer or sealing element28, as shown in Fig. 8,.is provided with a conical mound 48 projectingoutwardly therefrom, having said needle hole 39 therein, for engagingthe conical seat 56' on the retaining cap 38. k

In the embodiment shown, the serum inoculator It comprises acylinde'r 54and the" means" to reciprocate the needle" [6 within the cylin-' dric'alreservoir I2 comprises-a plunger 52' reciprocable' invthe cylinder,54.Thelower end of" the piston cylinder 54 has a'n" internally'threadedsocket 56 and the upper end of" the cylindrical reservoir l2 has anexternally threaded nipple".

58 threaded withinsaidsocket 56 andanannular' resilient washer 6!!having a central needle hole 62 is clamped. by the reservoir nipple58"agai'nsti the base of said'socket" 56.

In the embodiment shown; the upper" cylinder 54, plunger 52 and needleI6'are made of'suit' able metal. While the reservoir llmaywalso' be madeout of suitablemetal', it is preferably made out of a suitabletransparent substance such" as Lucite (methyl m'ethacrylate) or glass.The lower sealing washer 28i may also be made'of brass, if desired, butis preferably made of resilient' Tefilon (tetra-fluor' ethylene. resin)resilient neoprene or any. other suitable washer material. The lowerwasher 28 may, also be made of resilient material such as neoprene,rubber; or otherwise.

As stated, 1' preferably construct'the plunger- 7 that of theinoculating. needle H5, an= elongated cylinder forming bore 10-.ofrelatively large diameter, another portion l2 of slightly largerdiameter and. an internally threaded socketforming portion M' ofstill'great'er diameter in" the open end 63 thereof.

Iprovide a guidenut lli. having a shank 18 externally threaded as atailthreaded within said socket M and a. central plunger hole 82 of thediameter of the said cylindrical hole portion i2;

Fonapurpose to be described, I'provide a finger grip-Bkhavinga hub66Ywithth hole 88 therein to make said. hub .86 longitudinall adjustablethroughout the length of the barreIE Lsaid' hub havingsa radial setscrew adjusting hole. 96 thereinto-receivethe-lockingset screw 92} Thefinger grip-84 has diametricallyopposed arms 94 suitably grooved on oneside as at 96 to receive theoperators fingers therein as shown in Fig.1..

.It is obvious that with this. construction the finger grip may belongitudinally'adjustable on said barrel 54.

I also provide the cylindrical plunger 52 of substantially uniformdiameter, having a portion thereof reciprocable within the said cylinder54, having the central hole 98 therein to receive one end of the needleI6, and having a threaded radial hole I for a set screw whereby theneedle is secured to the plunger. There is a stop collar I02 preferablyformed integrally on the plunger 52 having a diameter approximating thatof the bore I2 and of the hole 82 in the guide nut 16 but larger thanthe hole I! in said nut. Thus the collar I02 is adapted to abut thelower surface.

of the guide nut I5 when in raised position. Said plunger 52 terminatesin a thumb operated button I04 at the outer end thereof spaced abovesaid guide nut 16 a greater distance than that of the desired plungermovement. I'also provide the stop collar I06 adjustably mounted on saidplunger 52 between said guide nut I6 and button I04. Said stop collarI06 is provided with the radial hole I08 therein to receive the setscrew H0 for longitudinal adjustment thereof to adjustably limit theextent to which the needle may be pushed out from the discharge end ofthe reservoir I2.

I provide the coil spring II 2 having one end abutting the annular seatat the elongated cylinder bore portion '50 and having its other endabutting the inner end ofthe plunger to urge said plunger normally toits retracted position, with the end I8 of the needle closing the holeI4 in the reservoir I2. In all positions, therefore, the elongatedneedle extends through said coil spring I I2, barrel needle bore portion68, reservoir I2, reservoir wiping washer 28 "and cap 38.

In use, the reservoir I2 is filled with the desired amount of serum,normally an entire bottle full as sold by the manufacturer, enough for amultiplicity of doses.- When it is desired to use the device, theforefinger I I4 and middle finger I I6 may have the ends thereofinserted within the grooves 96in the arms 94 of the finger grip 84 andthe thumb H8 pressed against the thumb button I04 in such a manner as tourge the point N3 of the needle an inoculating distance fromthereservoir. It is obvious that as the inoculating needle I6 is pushedoutwardly the wiping washer 28 will function to wipe all excess .serumfrom the needle as it passes through the hole 30 to without thereservoir, the elongated mound 48 increasing the depth of the hole 30 toinsure a positive wiping action. The point of the needle I8 then may beinserted up to the depth of the hole 22 .within the leg or wing of thefowl 20 as shown in Fig. 1. As the needle I6 is withdrawn from the fowl,the thumb may be removed and the spring II2 will forcethe plunger 52outwardly carrying the needle It with it so that the surface ofthe-needle which has been outside the reservoir is also wiped by thewasher 28 as the point I8 is retracted within the reservoir I2 so as tofill the hole I4 in the reservoir, it being obvious that this wipes anydiseased tissue which may remain on the projecting end of the needle. Itis thus obvious that with this construction a minimum amount of serum isused for each inoculation and that no serum is lost except that which isactually used, that the serum is kept in a safe close container freefrom dust, dirt and contamination at all'times, and thatit is carefullywiped of. all possible contaminating matteraprlor to withdrawing theneedle I6, so that its ous deviations may be made therefrom withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the appendedxclaims.

What Iclaim is:

1. A serum inoculator comprising a transparent serum holding reservoirhaving a dispensing hole, a needle extending through said reservoiralongthe axis of the inoculator and being reciprocable in said reservoirfrom a' closed position with its pointed end substantially contained insaid hole to an inoculating position with its end projecting aninoculating distance beyond said hole, said needle having a measuredserum dose receiving indentation therein at a closely spaced distancefrom said pointed end, fixed wiper means in the said reservoir adjacentthe said dispensing hole forming with the pointed end of said needlewhen said needle is in a closed position a seal for sealing serum withinsaid reservoir, said means wiping said needle on each inoculatingmovement thereof except a measured dose contained within saidindentation, and means in-- eluding a plunger connected to said needleand extending along the axis of the inoculator to a position to bemanually actuated to move said needle from a closed to an inoculatingposition and spring means coiled about said needle and acting on saidplunger to return the needle from its inoculating position to its saidclosed position.

2. .A serum inoculator comprising a transparent serum holding reservoirhaving a dispensing hole, a needle having a pointed end reciprocable insaidreservoir from a closed position with its pointed end substantiallycontained in said hole to an inoculating position with its endprojecting an inoculating distance beyond said hole, having .a diametricserum dose receiving hole therein at a closely spaced distance from saidpointed end and diametrically opposite grooves extending outwardly fromsaid hole, and an annular sealing element mounted within said reser--voir adjacent said hole having an inner periph-. ery adapted to abutsaid needle as it passes: through said hole to wipe all serum from thesur--- face of said needle on each inoculating move-- ment thereof,except a measured dose contained;

within said diametric needle hole and axial. grooves and means toreciprocate said needle.- from a closed to an inoculating position.

3. A serum inoculator comprising a serum hold ing reservoir having adispensing hole, a needle having a pointed end reciprocable in saidreservoir from a closed position with its pointed endv each having thesame side wall thereof longitudinally grooved to receive a finger,whereby two fingers may be inserted in said grooves and the thumbinserted over the button to correctly align the inoculator for accurateadjustment prior to the thumb manipulation of. the plunger and needle.

13. A serum inoculator comprising a reservoir for serum; a needleextending within said reservoir and movable with respect thereto havinga serum measuring indentation near one end thereof; a wiper element heldat one end of the reservoir for wiping that portion of the surface ofsaid needle, except for the said indentation, which passes through thesaid element as the needle is moved with respect to said reservoir;means connected with the other end of said reservoir including a plungerto which said needle is secured and by which the needle can be movedmanually in one direction with respect to said reservoir and said wiperelement, and spring means acting on said plunger to effect returnmovement of the needle in the opposite direction.

14. A serum inoculator comprising a reservoir for the serum; areciprocable needle extending through said reservoir along the axisthereof having a pointed end to be projected into the bird to beinoculated, said needle being solid except for an indentation forcarrying a predetermined dose of serum; wiping means held infixedposition at the dispensing end of said reservoir for removing serum fromthe surface of the needle in excess of said dose; and means forreciprocating the said needle so that the said indentation will entersaid reservoir through said wiping means on one stroke to be chargedwith the serum, and on the other stroke will be pushed out of thereservoir through said wiping means into inoculating position.

15. A serum inoculator comprising a reservoir for serum; a reciprocableneedle having a portion movable into and out of said reservoir forinsertion in and removal from the bird to be inoculated, said needlehaving in that portion thereof which enters and exits from saidreservoir an indentation of such size as to pick up and convey from thereservoir an amount of serum sufficient for a single inoculation; wipingmeans fixed in position at the dispensing end of said reservoir forremoving from said needle the serum other than the said amount; andmeans connected to said needle and operable thereon for impartingreciprocating strokes thereto for drawing the said portion into thereservoir to charge the indentation with serum and to project ittherefrom to an exposed position for inoculating use.

ROBERT GRANT TRUESDALE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 786,358 I-Ioughton Apr. 4, 19052,091,438 Epstein Aug. 31, 1937 2,324,535 Powell July 20, 1943 2,345,070Powell Mar. 28, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 621,770 GermanyNov. 13, 1935

